Rick Barry Quotations

People who don't know me have opinions about me. That's the part that's very hurtful. Because how do you form an opinion about somebody if you've never met them or spent any time with them? So it's all based upon hearsay or things that they've read.

The fishing is a great relief for me. When I'm out there's no cell phone ringing. I'm out there fishing with bears. I'm in the middle of God's country catching tons of fish. I just absolutely love it.

They have so fundamentally flawed techniques it's ridiculous. They shoot the ball flat. They all stand upright, there's just so many things they do incorrectly.

When you think about what the odds are to have four boys to not only be able to follow in the footsteps in a basketball career but to also be good in the secondary career as far as the broadcasting, it's pretty remarkable.

In life it wasn't what you know, but who you know. I had people who were trying to buy teams and had they bought the teams, I would have gotten to coach because they wanted me to coach. But the people who have the teams hire their friends.

What's really amazing is some of them hated Bill more than they hated me.

We know what it's like to go through something like this, with the Hurricane Ivan floods last year,

He taught himself Russian, Give me a break.

The availability of high-density land at an affordable price is hard to find right now.

but it is so much harder now. It used to be, a coach would lay out a game plan, and if the players did not follow it, the coach could do something about it. Now, what do you do? You can't fine anyone because the players make so much money. A fine means nothing. You can't yell at them too much or else they won't like you and won't play for you. Then, they're demanding a trade or you're getting fired. Players control things a lot more now.

Success in anything is about focus and concentration. When I coached, I'd say to the players, 'Yes, I know you played hard, but that's not good enough. You've got to stay focused on the task at hand the entire game.'

I was taught to play the game from a total team concept-to be able to do everything reasonably well and some things extraordinarily well. If I'm not shooting well, I'll try to be an asset in other ways-like defense, passing, rebounding, and hustle.

I fantasize about LeBron's ability. He is the best player I have ever seen at this age.